Research at the UvA

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Focus on Science research

Research

Focus on Science research

Focus on research: Chemist Jarl Ivar van der Vlugt

If it were up to chemist Jarl Ivar van der Vlugt, the field of catalysis will change dramatically in the near future. It will become cleaner, cheaper, smarter, and more effective. Inspired by nature.

Focus on research: Plant Biologist Eric Schranz

Though there are few clues on the outside, most plants today have doubled their amount of hereditary material (DNA) at some point on the evolutionary path. And then doubled it again, and again. IBED researcher Eric Schranz is trying to learn when this happens and what the effects are.

Focus on research: theoretical physicist Jean-Sébastien Caux

‘Theoretical physics is very logical. Now, to my mind psychology is something really difficult', says Jean-Sébastien Caux, Institute for Theoretical Physics. His research concentrates on the theoretical side of condensed matter – solid and liquid matter.

Focus on research: marine biologist Jasper de Goeij

The mystery of the reef: where does all the stored energy in the earth’s most productive ecosystem go? IBED researcher Jasper de Goeij found the answer during his doctoral research, a discovery that launched his scientific career with a flying start.

Focus on Research: chemist David Dubbeldam

David Dubbeldam, a chemist at the Van‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, performs computer calculations to decide what future metal-organic frameworks should look like.

Focus on research: Computer scientist dr. Paola Grosso

Ever sat in front of the screen waiting for a YouTube clip that’s taking forever to load? Annoying, but certainly nothing serious compared to the problems Paola Grosso deals with on a daily basis. The Italian computer scientist develops ingenious network infrastructures designed to transfer enormous quantities of scientific, medical and media data.

Focus on research: theoretical physicist Marika Taylor

Theoretical physicist Marika Taylor studies string theory and black holes. The fascination with physics started at an early age. ‘Even as a very small child, I remember wondering why water flowed, or why the sky was blue.'

Focus on Research: information scientist Harry Buhrman

With quantum computers, information scientist Harry Buhrman hopes to solve mathematical problems that are beyond the capabilities of our current computers.

Focus on research: theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Francesco Battaglia

The four walls are draped in black ceiling-to-floor curtains, and Francesco Battaglia makes sure the door is covered too once we have sealed ourselves in the room. The laboratory is now pitch black. During experiments, he explains, even the lights are switched off. Battaglia studies the behaviour of rats and mice: nocturnal animals.

Focus on research: Physicist Peter Schall

There is ‘a whole zoo’ of new substances out there just waiting to be discovered, according to Schall. In order to learn more about the process behind the formation of perfectly regular crystals, undistorted by gravity, Schall will soon be sending his particles into space, to the ISS space station.

Focus on research: molecular biologist Martijn Rep

Molecular biologist Martijn Rep started off his study of the tomato-infecting fungus Fusarium oxysporum by examining the function of secreted proteins. He later discovered that the fungus is capable of transferring entire chromosomes to similar fungi. His findings earned him a publication in Nature. The Vici grant will enable him to unravel the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.

Focus on research: chemist Jocelyne Vreede

Jocelyne Vreede opens the door of a shadowy computer room on the fifth floor of the Roeterseiland complex. Inside are cabinets chock-a-block with computers, their fans softly whirring. Pointing to one of the backup system’s switch units, she says, ‘I rarely come here ordinarily, never more than twice a year’. And yet a major portion of Vreede’s research takes place in this very room.

Focus on research: AI-scientist Bert Bredeweg

The scudding of the clouds across the sky, the pouring of a cup of coffee; one may be more complicated to describe than the other, but they are both examples of systems that change according to set rules. Bert Bredeweg, a scientist specialising in artificial intelligence developed an interactive computer program for describing these types of systems conceptually.

Focus on research: molecular biologist Frans Klis

Frans Klis offers an apology as he opens a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate his research with a few pictures. ‘We'll skip the worst of these, he says, clicking past photographs of a white tongue, a red baby bottom and severely infected fingernails. All fungal infections, and mainly caused by Candida albicans, the subject of Klis' research.

Focus on research: Plant pathologist Frank Takken

Each time a plant finds a new way to resist a specific type of fungus, the fungus develops a new strategy to circumvent the plant’s resistance mechanism. Plant pathologist dr. Frank Takken studies the mechanisms involved in these attack and defence reactions between fungi and plants.

Focus on Research: Astronomer Anna Watts

Astronomer Anna Watts beams with enthusiasm as she explains her research. Watts analyses electromagnetic signals from space in order to figure out the composition of neutron stars, jokingly referred to as zombies or dead stars. Though this label might suggest otherwise, these stars are at the heart of an extremely lively field of research.

Focus on research: Earth scientist Harry Seijmonsbergen

Earth scientist Harry Seijmonsbergen of the Computational Geo-Ecology research group has a genuine love of landscapes. Both his research and lectures successfully combine classic fieldwork with the latest computer technologies, such as GIS and Remote Sensing.

Focus on research: environmental chemist Pim de Voogt

‘Where does a substance end up if I throw it in the canal?’ Pim de Voogt points at the window of his office on the Nieuwe Achtergracht. ‘How much of it will end up in the air, how much will end up in the fish?

Focus on research: physical geographer Jan Peter Lesschen

People wading knee-high through water, cars floating through the streets: when it rains in Spain, it really rains. Physical geographer Jan Peter Lesschen of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Faculty of Science, investigates the consequences of such a cloudburst on erosion in agricultural areas abandoned by people.

Focus on research: operational research expert Michel Mandjes

A computer network, a clogged motorway or a warehouse awaiting new stock, operational research expert Michel Mandjes doesn’t see the difference: all three are queues and at the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for mathematics Mandjes investigates how they might flow most efficiently. No more queues at the checkout?

Focus on research: molecular microbiologist Jeroen Hugenholtz

Jeroen Hugenholtz has been affiliated with the University of Amsterdam since May 2006 as professor of Industrial Molecular Microbiology for one day per week. He investigates how you can get lactic acid bacteria to do more than just produce tasty yoghurt.

Focus on research: theoretical physicist Jan de Boer

Armed only with pen and paper, theoretical physicist Professor Jan de Boer addresses the largest unsolved issues in science. In the course of his quest for a theory of everything, he rolls up dimensions and dreams of worlds in which no gravity exists!

Focus on research: chemist Erika Eiser

Recently, Dr Erika Eiser of the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences won the second prize in the Science Park Amsterdam New Ideas Competition 2006, together with her colleague Dr Gadi Rothenberg. They thought up a way to get molecules to spontaneously form extremely thin metal wires that you could use to make extremely small chips. Will this remain just an idea, or will we all be using this new nanotechnology in the near future?

Focus on research: biologist Antoine Cleef

Prof. dr. Antoine Cleef was awarded the ‘Orden de San Carlos’ for his research on biodiversity in Columbia and for his contribution to education in that country. He spent many years carrying out research on the Columbian páramos, grasslands high up in the Andes Mountains. He discovered about three hundred new plants, fifteen of which have meanwhile been named after him and now bear the name Cleefii.

Focus on research: informatician Theo Gevers

If you have ever searched the Internet trying to find that special romantic scene or the replay of that fantastic goal, you will be aware that retrieving video images is not an easy task. An European consortium under the leadership of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory Amsterdam (ISLA), where Theo Gevers works, was awarded 2.8 million euro by the European Union this summer in order to do something about this.

Focus on research: physicist Els Koffeman

At the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics (NIKHEF), the days, hours and minutes are slowly ticking by until the moment that the first particle collision takes place in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The whole physics community is excitedly awaiting the first results of this experiment during which the Higgs particle, which has never been observed to date, will hopefully be found. Or not. Even if no Higgs particle is found, people will also be excited. Els Koffeman designs and builds detectors that record particle collisions very accurately.

Focus on research: aquatic microbiologist Jolanda Verspagen

Blue-green algae were a top news item in July, thanks to the high temperatures. When the weather is hot and there is little wind, blue-green algae are a real nuisance in open water and form a health hazard for humans and animals alike. The aquatic microbiology research group at the UvA has been investigating blue-green algae for years and looking for possible measures which can be taken in order to reduce the inconvenience caused by the algae. The researchers could be found this summer on and around about twenty lakes between Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Focus on research: biologist Michel Haring

Do you enjoy the smell of freshly mown grass and the scent of flowers in the garden? You’re not the only one. It may seem unlikely, but plants themselves are also able to smell. For plants, however, it’s not a question of enjoyment but a matter of survival. Biologist Michel Haring carries out research on plants that are able to smell. The new greenhouse complex at Science Park Amsterdam, equipped with the latest gadgets, will be a great asset to his research.

Focus on research: physicist Jook Walraven

The research of experimental physicist Jook Walraven on quantum gases is considered such an important achievement that his colleagues nominated him for a fellowship at the American Physical Society (APS). A great honour, since only a half percent of all members of this American association of physicists may call themselves fellows. What scientific discoveries has Walraven made?

Focus on research: computer scientist Simon Jones

Simon Jones has been the new leader of the Human Computer Studies (HCS) group, since January this year. He is especially interested in new ways of using mobile telephone technology, not only in order to make daily life easier, but also to improve it. In order to realise this it is, according to Jones, important to develop a system that understands how people feel. Is the time right for an empathetic mobile? Jones manages to find a slot in his busy schedule to tell us enthusiastically about his plans.

Also refer to

Faculty of Science - Research